(Houston) Authorities in Houston, Texas said they would watch videos, interview witnesses and review protocols to determine how eight people died at a music festival when fans suddenly rushed to the scene to watch rapper Travis Scott.
City officials said on Saturday they were in the early stages of investigating the tragedy that unfolded on Friday night at Astroworld, a two-day sold-out festival attended by around 50,000 people. One attendee said crowds flocked to the stage during the show’s final count.
“As soon as he arrived on stage, it was as if an energy took over and everything went haywire,” said Niaara Goods. All of a sudden your ribs are crushed. You have someone’s arm around your neck. You try to breathe, but you can’t. ”
Mme Goods said she was so desperate to get out that she bit a man on the shoulder to get him to move.
The victims were between 14 and 27 years old and 13 people were still hospitalized on Saturday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. He called the disaster a “tragedy on many different levels” and said it was too early to draw conclusions about what went wrong. Dozens of festival-goers were injured.
“It may well be that this tragedy was the result of unforeseeable events, of circumstances that could not have been avoided,” said Justice Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s top elected official. But until we figure it out, I’ll ask the tough questions. ”
Experts who have studied crowd movement deaths say they are often the result of density – too many people crammed into a small space. Crowds often run away from a perceived threat or move towards something they want, like an artist, before hitting a barrier.
Based on fire codes, the venue could have accommodated 200,000 people, but city officials limited attendance to 50,000, said Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña.
“It was the crowd control near the stage that was the problem, especially as the crowd started to rush towards the stage,” Peña said.
The events were reminiscent of a The Who concert in 1979 where 11 people died as thousands of fans attempted to enter Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum. Other tragedies caused by crowd movements include the deaths of 97 people at an overcrowded Hillsborough stadium in 1989 in Sheffield, England, and numerous disasters related to the hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Festival-goers in attendance in Houston reported a lot of jostling during the performances leading up to Travis Scott’s number.
Then, when the performer took the stage, the crowd seemed to rush forward, trying to get closer to the stage, said Nick Johnson, a young man who was at the concert with friends.
Amy Harris, a freelance photographer for The Associated Press, described an “aggressive” crowd atmosphere throughout the day due to the way the fans behaved – pushing and rushing at the barricades on the stage. .
“It was definitely the most chaotic festival environment I’ve been in,” she said. I felt uncomfortable all day. ”
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said his officers noticed attendees “come down” at 9:30 p.m. and his organization immediately notified concert organizers. The event was canceled 40 minutes later after discussions with the fire department and site officials.
Mr. Finner defended the length of time it took for the event to be canceled.
“You can’t just close when you have 50,000 – over 50,000 – individuals, okay?” He said. We have to worry about riots when you have such a young group. ”